Perfect for You: A Reality TV Novella

By Elle Fielding

Cara Cooke and Brendan Baker's debut on the reality TV show The Perfect Swap was nothing short of a disaster. Despite their sky-high compatibility scores, they frequently clashed due to their differing approaches to handling situations. But fate has a funny way of bringing people together. Now, they find themselves as partners on Challenge Island, an established reality TV adventure that's new territory for both of them. The stakes are high: they must set aside old grudges, conquer lingering doubts, and race to secure the grand prize. Can Cara and Brendan overcome their tumultuous history and prove they're a winning team, or will their past prove to be their downfall?

Word Count: 23,000. Ideal for those seeking a short read, approximately 2 hours in length.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elle Fielding
• Release date: Dec 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9780645585896

Elle Fielding

Elle Fielding is a true-blue Aussie who's as passionate about romance as Melbourne is about its four-seasons-in-one-day weather. Her love affair with romance novels started in her teens, fuelled by a steady diet of Dolly Fiction, Love Stories, Loveswept, and those irresistible Harlequin Mills & Boon tales. With a diary full of her own unrequited crushes, Elle figured it was high time to start creating some love stories of her own. Elle's first crack at writing romance was, let's just say, a learning curve. But she's been honing her skills, swapping out personal misadventures for the sweeping world of fiction. She's now living the dream, writing her own romance novels and loving every minute of it. When she's not busy writing or getting lost in a good book (or audiobook), Elle's living her own fairy tale on the Mornington Peninsula with her very own Mr. Perfect. For Elle, life's all about capturing those happily-ever-afters, both in her stories and beyond the pages.

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Copyright

Elle Fielding acknowledges the Bunurong people, the traditional custodians of the land upon which this book was written and pays respect to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

This is a work of fiction and has been produced solely for entertainment purposes. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you’d like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with.

Copyright © 2023 Elle Fielding. All rights reserved. Including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the author.

Edited by Lili Grouse.

Cover image under licence from Adobe Stock.

Author's Note

Several years ago, before the pandemic in 2020, my bestie Lili Grouse and I embarked on an endeavour to co-write novellas, particularly ones centred around reality TV shows. As we delved into the process, we found that our approach didn’t align with our individual writing styles.

Although we each penned a novella with input from the other, our collaboration began to resemble individual roles: one of us as a developmental editor (in my case) and the other as a line editor (in Lili’s case). It felt strange attempting to rewrite each other’s pieces. This led us to the realisation that we weren’t genuinely co-writing.

Consequently, we decided to put our joint venture on hold. Later, we chose to publish our novellas individually, yet as companion pieces. Lili's story, Baristas, is set in the unique backdrop of a reality TV show in a coffee shop. True to Lili’s distinctive style, it's filled with humour, engaging dialogue, and her signature comedic flair. Lili also edited this story, and I am deeply grateful for her unwavering support and cherished friendship.

Part 1

Brendan

Why have you stopped?

I pivot to meet the gaze of the striking redhead, Cara Cooke, her slender finger playing with her full bottom lip. Undeniably attractive, her eyes, however, betray the inner turmoil she’s facing. As the sun begins to set, casting a golden hue over the beach, the stage is set for the grand finale of The Perfect Swap. This ceremony at dusk will decide our fates. Seeing her teetering on the brink of a mental breakdown as we prepare to film, I’m gripped by the urgency to steady her for the challenges ahead.

Cara, I begin, searching for words, This ceremony... it won’t end well for us.

She doesn’t meet my gaze, instead staring at the distant crew on the beach. I’m not hoping for a miracle here, Brendan.

Taking a deep breath, I urge, Don’t let them win by giving them the scene they want. Don’t let this break you.

The tightly wound chef has teetered on the edge since the show’s inception, a vulnerability the producers relished exploiting. A televised breakdown would be ratings gold, a spectacle they crave. Yet, their voyeurism doesn’t mirror the reality of living with Cara’s unravelling emotions for the past three weeks. Sometimes, I wonder if I should have allowed her to descend into madness, but my sister’s battles with depression and anxiety remind me of the depths such struggles entail. Perhaps, too, my reluctance stems from my aversion to being associated with her downward spiral.

Her blue eyes, previously clouded with despair, flare with anger. Good. Anger might help her salvage a small amount of pride.

We’re about to get dumped, she hisses. Couldn’t you just say one nice thing to me before we’re humiliated on national TV?

I have no intention of being humiliated, and neither should you.

She shakes her head. If only we all had your ice-cold detachment.

Drawing myself taller, I adjust my long-sleeved shirt, my fingers twitching at the fabric. Control over my emotions doesn’t equate to coldness.

That’s not what your fiancée says.

A muscle twitches involuntarily in my eye, a sure sign of my irritation—an emotion that seems to surface often around Cara. She observes the telltale twitch, frown fleeting as she returns to glaring, perhaps convincing herself that her insults won’t wound. She thinks I’m a robot. Encouraging her to separate her emotions from the situation over the past few weeks backfired.

I’m just trying to help, I say stiffly, batting away one of the many pesky insects we’ve been dealing with on this hellish island masquerading as paradise.

From the corner of my eye, I notice a discreet camera lens hidden in the nearby foliage, silently observing our conversation. It’s these very tactics, the subtle manipulations and invasions of privacy, that are the reason I’ve always hated reality TV.

She scoffs, Well, that would be a first, wouldn’t it?

I sigh. Forgive me for not playing into their mind games. You should’ve done the same.

Cara had begged me to fabricate a love story, an endeavour the producers avidly endorsed, hoping our faux romance would elicit jealousy in our true partners. But this show would strip me of my dignity if allowed. I might have succumbed to persuasion from my fiancée and the temptation of wedding finances, but I’m responsible for that choice. My control now lies solely in what I present to the cameras. I refuse to depart with my tail between my legs, even as my fiancée seems set to leave this hellhole with another man.

She snaps me back to the present. We needed to do something. I knew sitting around and pretending to be fine with everything was never going to win either of them back.

We shouldn’t have to ‘win’ them back.

Your wedding is months away and you’re just going to let her walk away without putting up a fight.

Stacey had painted a rosy picture of The Perfect Swap as an opportunity for us to win the $300,000 prize, perfect to finance our dream wedding and a down payment for our first home. The proposition had been extremely attractive, and it sounded straightforward: Six engaged couples competing for the title of best couple, with the prize money to sweeten the deal. Our early days were filled with the optimism of camaraderie and seemingly harmless challenges.

The swap changed everything, I murmur, lost in thought.

Suddenly, we were paired with individuals deemed our perfect match based on compatibility tests. I found myself paired with Cara, a decision by the producers based on our supposed 92% compatibility. Yet, as time wore on, the stark contrast in our personalities made their assessment seem laughably off-mark. Meanwhile, my fiancée, Stacey, and Cara’s fiancé, with an 89% compatibility rating, seemed to effortlessly connect.

As days turned